THE leader of the Conservatives on Bradford Council received a standing ovation after making his last speech at full council as head of the Tory group.

In February, Bingley Rural councillor Simon Cooke announced he was stepping down as leader at the local council elections in May and would not be standing for re-election when his current term as councillor ends in 2019.

At the latest council meeting, Cllr Cooke said: “ Unless something odd happens, this will be my last speech from this chair. And I think speaking about pride in Bradford is a good topic to close on.

“My philosophy – for the avoidance of doubt, Lord Mayor, it’s called conservatism – tells me that we should approach making society better, not by grand theories of human perfection, but by looking out our front door and fixing what we can see from that doorstep.

“If there’s a stone fallen off a wall, pick it up and put it back. Don’t wait for someone else to do it.

“If there’s a piece of litter. Pick it up. Put it in a bin.

“If there’s someone who needs a lift, give them a lift.

“And if what needs fixing is beyond your power, ask whether you and your neighbours – together – can fix it.

“Most people here – and lots of people in Bradford – understand exactly how neighbourliness and loving the place where you live really make a difference.

“The problem is that too many people don’t. They’re the ones who drop the litter, do the fly-tipping, graffiti the walls, vandalise the bus stops, spit in the street, park on the pavement.

“The enforcement we spend so much time on is because of these people.

“It’s also because too many people walk on by. They’re very quick to tell us that the place is a dump but not so quick to try and make it better.

“Making a place better – making Bradford better – doesn’t start with a strategy for the city, it starts with making your and my neighbourhood – just a few streets – better places to live.

“In Denholme, when the road was blocked in the snow, dozens of people helped out. Some with pick-ups and 4x4s, some just by bringing out cups of tea to stranded motorists, and lots by clearing snow, by just being part of a community.

“This is what community pride is about – community attachment. Love. And we need it every day, not just when it snows.”

When Cllr Cooke announced his decision to stand down, he said: "Some while ago I decided that I wouldn’t be standing for re-election when my current term as councillor finishes in 2019.

"I think it would be wrong to stay on as leader running up to an election in which I’m not standing.

“In May 2019 I will have been a councillor for 24 years and, for me, that’s long enough.

"It’s not that I don’t enjoy it but rather that it’s probably best to stop while that’s the case. I also think that a new leader would inject some extra drive.

"I wrote a little list of things that needed to happen for the group and the party in Bradford and, having looked at the list, concluded by saying to myself: 'Simon, this stuff is important but do you really want to do these things?'."